Preydator || Todoroki x OC

•7: Home•

I inhale the homey scent of wood, fresh linen, and faint hints of citrus. It reminds me of my old home.

"I'll show you to your room." A man with long, black hair and a permanently tired look on his face says. He is a pro-hero named Eraser-Head that works at UA as a teacher. Unfortunately, I have to live with this hero now, because the police found out I don't have a legal guardian.

I follow him up the stairs and into a small hallway. We turn into a small room right next to the stairs. There is a bed with plain, blue sheets next to a wooden bedside table. Across the room, is a desk with a white, spinning chair next to a large window. Although this room is extremely plain and lacking personality, it feels comfortable and inviting.

"Here." He hands me a small, rectangular device that I recognize as a phone. I've never owned my own phone before, but I know how it works, thanks to Dabi. "I already put my number in the contacts." I open up the conacts app to see one named "Aizawa".

"Thank you." I say. I'm quite surprised Aizawa is being so hospitable, even though I know it's just because the police need to keep an eye on me as a reforming vandal.

"Don't worry about it." He replies. "Unpack your stuff. I'll call you down for dinner soon." He states as he walks out of the room and down the stairs.

I sigh and flop onto the comfy bed. 'Much nicer than that squeaky mattress I used to sleep on.' I think as I bury my face in the cool sheets. I inhale the strong scent of laundry detergent coming off of the bedsheet and smile. 'It's kind of nice to be in a real house like this.' I remark as I sit up. I take off the small backpack on my back and open it up to find my belongings I brought from the old flat.

I start to put my clothes in the closet and toiletries in the bathroom down the hall, and that's pretty much all that I brought with me. I didn't own much anyway. I pull my fox mask off of my face. Thankfully, Aizawa doesn't mind me wearing it, unlike the police do. I carress the cheek of the mask, holding its face delicately like porcelain. "I'm going to find you and get answers." I think aloud, whispering as I think of that woman who betrayed me.

"Come down and eat!" I hear Aizawa call from the kitchen. I quickly put the mask down on the bedside table and make my way down the townhouse stairs.

I follow the warm aroma of freshly cooked food to the dinnertable. I see Aizawa waiting with two bowls of katsudon. I sit down and softly smile down at the familiar meal I haven't eaten in what feels like forever. I hadn't realized how much I missed eating like this in a real home.

Aizawa cocks an eyebrow at my expression. "Did something good happen?"

I shake my head. "It's nothing."

He cracks a small smile at me. "Let's eat."

"Itadakimasu."

-----

I sit on the edge of my bed, staring up at the blank ceiling. The room is dark with only a sliver of the silver moonlight pouring in through the window. I glance towards the digital clock, it's number illuminated in a red glow. '11:30.' I read and close my eyes. 'I've just been laying here for an hour. I need to get a good night's rest for the first day of "school" tomorrow.' I tell myself, but my brain refuses to fall asleep. So much has happened in one day that I can barely believe it. 'In just a few hours, my life was turned upside down.' I think. I draw a small picture of myself on the ceiling, vandalising the blank wall under the road from this morning. I draw a small Todoroki next to me as it dawns on me like a sudden realization. 'Will I see Todoroki tomorrow?!' Somehow, I had forgotten all about that boy amongst all the chaos. 'I should've asked Aizawa which class the peppermint is in.' My brows furrow with a stress similar to embarrassment. I almost don't want him to see me tomorrow. 'What will he think of me? What if he thinks I'm weak or dumb for getting caught?' I frown.

'Have I actually been caught, though?'
Little bunny had no other choice than to give herself up to the fox. I also didn't have much choice. I wasn't asked to pick jail or UA, I had no other option except to go to UA. The option of jail was a threat. I'm not stupid. 'Little bunny was forced to choose between her village, or her. I was forced to go to jail, or UA.' In other words, she would get eaten, or else her village would be slaughtered. It is a threat. There is no other choice but defeat. I was caught because I'm weak. I feel frustrated tears pricking my eyes. 'The weak have no choice. They will ultimately be defeated.'

"That's right. Predators will always devour their prey." I can hear my mother's voice in my head, as if she is here. I am imagining it, I know she can't be talking to me. However, she haunts me like a ghost, never leaving me alone, and always being undisprovable. "You were caught. You were weak. Todoroki would think so, too. He'd be correct, Rini."

"Shut up...." I hoarsely croak out. 'I am caught. I am weak. But that's why I need to go to UA. I need to find you, and find out what went wrong, and why this happened. Maybe then, you'll leave me alone.' I glare into the darkness of my room as if my mother is standing there. 'So, I can't leave now...' I glance towards the escape-worthy window right next to my desk. 'No, I totally can. I don't want to, though.' I pull the warm covers over myself, inhaling the scent of the fabric once again. 'I want to stay here... just... a little bit longer.'
I close my eyes and finally fall asleep.